For Teófimo López, the biggest shift in his life didn’t come with a belt or a headlining slot — it came in 2021, when he became a father.
“Being a father, you already won,” López said to The Guardian. “Everything else is just adding more water to my cup.”
His son, Teófimo López V, is four years old, and López says parenthood has reshaped how he thinks about responsibility — not just winning fights, but how he shows up publicly.
“I can’t be out here looking like a bad representation,” he explained. “Not just for him, but for all the other young kids that are looking up to me.”
That perspective comes as López returns to the Garden once again, a building that has mirrored the chaos and brilliance of his career. He’s delivered explosive wins there, suffered crushing setbacks, and rebuilt his reputation more than once.
At 28, López has already experienced the peaks of dethroning elite champions and the fallout that followed, including long layoffs, promotional disputes, and public scrutiny.
Those off-ring issues have often followed López as closely as his accomplishments. He has drawn criticism for inflammatory language, social media outbursts, and erratic public behavior, all of which at times overshadowed his performances in the ring.
López hasn’t shied away from addressing that reputation directly. “Of course there are going to be moments where you look vulnerable,” he said. “That could possibly be from the mentality point of myself. But my résumé speaks volumes. I always aim for the tougher opposition.”
López has also spoken openly about mental health struggles and periods of instability after major wins, particularly following his lightweight unification run. He credits fatherhood with helping him recalibrate.
“Anything that haunted me from the past, I’ve let all those things go,” López said. “I just want to show consistency moving forward.”
The matchup with Stevenson represents another defining test. Stevenson enters with a reputation for precision and control, while López is known for thriving in moments of disruption.
López believes those hard lessons, learned publicly and often painfully, prepared him for this stage. “I was never one to back down from a competitive fight,” he said. “Now we’re here, and I can’t wait to show I’m really about my business.”
Win or lose, López insists the bigger purpose remains unchanged. “I’m good for the next generation,” he said. “This isn’t just for me.”